The present invention relates to food products such as shelf-stable dough for baked goods wherein fat-bearing pieces, that are dispersible within the dough, resist softening by depression of melting point within the dough. The present invention also includes a method for making the dough capable of receiving fat-bearing pieces without their softening because of depression of the melting point of the fat-bearing pieces during storage of the dough with the fat-bearing pieces within the dough.
Cookies are among the best loved foods, as attested by a proliferation of cookie shops, as well as cookie aisles and cookie freezers in grocery stores. The cookies include baked cookies and refrigerated cookie dough. Dry mixes for the preparation of cookies, such as chocolate chip cookies, have also been available to consumers for many years.
One problem encountered in packaging and storing dry mixes has been the storage of chocolate chips used to make chocolate chip cookies. The chips have typically been stored apart from the dry mix. For instance, chocolate chips have been packaged in a separate pouch from the dry mix. The dry mix and chocolate chip pouch are packaged in a larger container and are not dispersed within the dry mix. Chips have been separately purchased and then admixed with the dry mix after addition of water to the dry mix.
For some embodiments, chocolate chips have been stored with a dry mix. The dry mix has had a low fat concentration, such as within a range of 3 to 4%. The dry mix also has had a low water concentration.
An addition of chocolate chips to cookie dough has been difficult to accomplish without sacrificing quality of a baked chocolate chip cookie. For instance, the Dartley et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,894,246, which issued Jan. 16, 1990, describes a xe2x80x9chalo effectxe2x80x9d problem in baked chocolate chip cookies. The xe2x80x9chalo effectxe2x80x9d is a lightening in color of parts of a cookie adjacent the surfaces of the chocolate chips. The xe2x80x9chalo effectxe2x80x9d also occurs on the surface of the cookie in parts of the cookie where the chocolate chips are covered only by a thin crust. The Dartley et al. patent described a low melting fat, which was added to cookie dough, to reduce the xe2x80x9chalo effect.xe2x80x9d
Another problem associated with addition of chocolate chips to cookie dough is xe2x80x9cchip bleed.xe2x80x9d xe2x80x9cChip bleedxe2x80x9d is a migration of material from the chip to the dough or to the crumb of the baked good. The Seiden et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,732,767, which issued Mar. 22, 1988, describes an addition of an emulsifier, which is predominantly crystalline at room temperature, to form a stable dough emulsion. The emulsifier ties up oil and syrup phases of a baked good made from the dough in a stable emulsion so the oil and syrup are less available to solubilize the chip components.
Problems such as xe2x80x9cchip bleedxe2x80x9d are even more vexing when a dough is stored for an extended period of time with chips in the dough. One other problem associated with addition of chocolate chips to a dough and extended storage of the dough, is the softening of chocolate chips when the chocolate chips are dispersed within the cookie dough. The softening is an increasingly greater problem the longer the dough is stored, especially when the dough is not stored at refrigeration temperatures, but at ambient temperatures.
Cocoa butter comprises about 27-28% by weight of a chip formula for conventional chocolate chips. Cocoa butter functions as an ingredient binder, a structural agent, a flavor carrier, and a textural and mouthfeel agent. Cocoa butter is a type of confectionery fat. Like other confectionery fats, cocoa butter has a reasonably hard consistency, stability, and a short melting range which is just below body temperature.
Cocoa butter is the primary fat source found in chocolate, and is defined as the edible fat obtained from cocoa beans. Cocoa butter exhibits a sharp melting point at 98xc2x0 F. with a softening of the cocoa butter around 90xc2x0 F. This melt profile of the cocoa butter provides the primary functional role of fat in chocolate, the xe2x80x9cmelt in the mouthxe2x80x9d textural properties. Cocoa butter also contracts upon solidification which allows molding and shaping of chocolate without sticking to the molds.
The cocoa butter in a traditional chocolate chip serves several functions. First, it provides the sensory benefits of a creamy mouthfeel due to the fact that cocoa butter melts sharply at 98xc2x0 F. The fat also carries flavor and allows this flavor to dwell on the taste buds, thereby enhancing the chocolate sensation. In addition to the sensory benefits of fat in chocolate, the fat serves several functional roles in the chocolate chip. The fat binds the cocoa and sugar together to form a paste. It provides the structure of the chip, and it lubricates and contracts to self-extract from molds. Lastly, the cocoa butter, in combination with sugar, provides a fragile but definite structure to the chip during baking so that the chip retains its shape in the oven.
Cookie products which are currently available are either baked, or if doughs, are frozen or are stored at refrigeration temperatures. Distribution of the products at frozen or refrigeration temperatures minimizes the softening degradation of the chocolate chips.
Developments in dough technology, such as shelf-stable doughs, have produced a problem with regard to degradation of chocolate chips when the chocolate chips are dispersed in the shelf-stable cookie dough. One problem with this dispersion is that after a relatively short period of time and at room temperature storage temperatures, the chocolate chips are transformed and softened from their solid state to a liquid state. The softening degradation is caused by interaction between the chocolate chip and constituents in the cookie dough. The principal interaction is between the cocoa butter in the chocolate chip and various fats in the cookie dough.
In its product aspect, one embodiment of the present invention resides in a ready-to-use dough article that provides a baked product such as a chocolate chip cookie. The dough article comprises a fat selected from a group consisting of one or more of a single fractionated fat, a double fractionated fat, cocoa butter or mixtures of a single fractionated fat, a double fractionated fat, and cocoa butter.
In one product aspect, the present invention resides in a dough that comprises a fat selected from a group consisting of one or more of a single fractionated fat, a double fractionated fat, cocoa butter or mixtures of a single fractionated fat, a double fractionated fat and cocoa butter and fat bearing particles that are dispersed within the dough.
In another product aspect, the present invention resides in a food article that comprises a dough and a container. The dough comprises a fat selected from the group consisting of single fractionated oil, double fractionated oil, and cocoa butter or mixtures of the single fractionated oil, double fractionated oil and cocoa butter.
In another product aspect, the present invention resides in a chocolate chip cookie dough. The chocolate chip cookie dough comprises margarine, and a fat selected from the group consisting of a single fractionated fat, a double fractionated fat, cocoa butter or mixtures of the single fractionated fat, the double fractionated fat or cocoa butter. The margarine is a carrier for the fat. The chocolate chip cookie dough also includes chocolate chips.
In another product aspect, the present invention resides in a baked chocolate chip cookie. In one cookie embodiment, the baked cookie is less friable than a conventional cookie.
In its method aspect, the present invention resides in a method for preventing fat bearing particles softening or melting in a dough. The method includes providing a dough comprising a single fractionated fat or a double fractionated fat or cocoa butter or a mixture of a single fractionated fat and a double fractionated fat and cocoa butter. Flavor chips or chocolate chips or other fat-bearing chips are added to the dough. The dough is added to a container for storage.